Football Week 4

First team: Rafferty is top quarterback

Buy This PhotoThe Columbus Dispatch fileRunning back Nick Goings was ThisWeek’s Super 25 captain as a junior for Dublin in 1994 and shared captain honors with Andy Katzenmoyer in 1995, when he led Scioto to the Division II state title in its first season as a program. Goings went on to play eight seasons in the NFL with Carolina.

Buy This PhotoNeal C. Lauron/The Columbus DispatchPickerington North tight end Jake Butt caught 12 touchdown passes last season to help the Panthers reach a Division I state semifinal.

Buy This PhotoDoral Chenoweth III/The Columbus DispatchAndy Katzenmoyer led Westerville South to a state runner-up finish as a junior and was Ohio’s Mr. Football as a senior in 1995 before becoming an all-American linebacker at Ohio State.

About the series

The six-part "All-Time ThisWeek Football Team" series marks the fifth consecutive summer in which ThisWeek Community News has taken a look back at the greatest moments in central Ohio sports since 1990. The series began July 4 with an honorable mention list of 140 players and followed with the third team. This installment features the second team and next week will feature the first team. Part five will feature a ranking of the top 10 coaches of the last 23 years and the final installment will be devoted to the No. 1 offensive player, No. 1 defensive player and No. 1 coach of the ThisWeek era.

All-Time ThisWeek Team

•Week 6: Top Offensive Player, Top Defensive Player and Top Coach in the ThisWeek Era

The authority regarding who is the best quarterback to come through central Ohio over the past 23 seasons might be Dublin Coffman High School football coach Mark Crabtree.

Since he took over the Shamrocks in 2001, Coffman has produced brothers Zack Stoudt and Cole Stoudt, both of whom made the "All-Time ThisWeek Football Team" honorable mention list, as well as other solid quarterbacks.

Then there's the debate about which Coffman quarterback was better: Brady Quinn or Jack Rafferty?

"People have asked me which one's better, and I think you've got to look at stats," Crabtree said.

With that in mind, the senior season by Rafferty in 2003, combined with his sophomore and junior seasons when he attended St. Charles, made him ThisWeek Community News' choice as first-team quarterback.

After passing for more than 2,000 yards in both his sophomore and junior seasons, Rafferty transferred to Coffman.

While Quinn threw for more than 2,000 yards in each of the two seasons that Rafferty was starring at St. Charles, Rafferty developed into an unstoppable force for Coffman. He passed for 3,221 yards with 27 touchdowns and six interceptions and rushed for 1,357 yards and 20 touchdowns in his only season with the Shamrocks.

Joining Rafferty on the first-team offense are players who put together historic senior seasons like Jeff Backes, Maurice Hall and Lance Moore, standout running back Nick Goings and a group of talented linemen headlined by Justin Boren.

The first-team defense features one of the three players from central Ohio to be named Mr. Football in Andy Katzenmoyer, one of five ThisWeek Super 25 captains on the first team in Jordan Gafford and strong representation from Pickerington, DeSales and Upper Arlington.

Quarterback

Rafferty (final prep season in 2003).

A finalist for Mr. Football as a senior at Coffman, the 6-foot, 182-pound Rafferty originally signed with Western Kentucky after not getting a Division I scholarship offer. He eventually landed at Otterbein, where he became a semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy as one of the top 10 players in small college football.

Running Back

Backes, who was sidelined for all of his junior season, rushed for 3,353 yards and 44 touchdowns as a senior when he became the third player from central Ohio to be named Mr. Football and UA won the Division I state title.

Hall also starred in 2000, rushing for 3,057 yards and 51 touchdowns, and was named the Super 25 captain.

Goings was Super 25 captain as a junior in 1994 for Dublin and shared captain honors with Katzenmoyer in 1995, when he also led Scioto to the Division II state title in its first season as a program.

Backes went on to play for Northwestern, Hall played for Ohio State and Goings played for Ohio State and the University of Pittsburgh. Goings then played eight seasons in the NFL, all with the Carolina Panthers.

Wide Receiver

Moore, who is set to begin his eighth season with the New Orleans Saints after playing at Toledo, had perhaps the greatest season by a central Ohio wide receiver as a senior in 2000. That fall, he finished with 103 catches for a then-state-record 1,585 yards with 24 touchdowns, and he also set a state record with 18 catches in a game.

Wheelwright was a 6-5, 215-pounder who averaged 25 yards per catch and had 21 touchdowns over his final two prep seasons.

Tight End

Jake Butt (Pickerington North, 2012).

Set to begin his first season playing for Michigan, Butt had seven touchdown catches as a junior and 68 receptions for 907 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior while helping the Panthers reach a Division I state semifinal.

Defensive Line

The distinction of DeSales' greatest defensive player over the past two decades comes down to Fickell, who was the state's Division III Lineman of the Year as a senior and won three consecutive state wrestling titles, or Bowman, who was the state's Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and led the team to back-to-back state titles.

Fraser led UA to a Division I state title as a senior before playing for Ohio State and in the NFL, including three seasons with the Cleveland Browns.

Nix was a three-time Super 25 honoree who plays for Kent State.

Linebacker

Katzenmoyer, who was named Mr. Football as a senior, helped the Wildcats earn a state runner-up finish in 1994 and a regional runner-up finish the next year. He went on to play for Ohio State and for two seasons with the New England Patriots.

Reid helped Pickerington end a seven-year playoff drought as a junior in 1999 and then was the district's Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. He played three seasons for Michigan before an injury ended his career.

Hughes helped UA make the playoffs during each of his final three seasons before turning his focus to a college and professional lacrosse career.

Gwinn was a high school All-American as a senior and had begun to settle in as a defensive lineman for Ohio State when he died in a car crash on Dec. 12, 1993.